The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1887-12-22
he AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS.
Inc summers Sun Di>rObes Santa Clan,
OF His Scal-skin
Special Cor. STATE CHHoNfcLE.l

oI Ills Scai-Skin.
Especial Cor. STATE CHHoNfcLE.l
Inc Australian Christ mas comes in the
summer season. \ Southern sun dlsrobes
SANTA Claus OF his seal skin and icicles.
Inc heavens are blue, and the hills are
covered with flowers. The air is odorous
with horal perfume-lilies nod in the
oreeze' ana roses open their fragrant
petals to the sky. Creepers swing on the
arbors, and the hedges are bright with
blossoms. The Australian looks ont at
wheat helds rolling yellow pillows of grain,
with cloud shadows tlitting like phantom
waves over the land scape He hears the
| reapers song and the binders whistle as
they gather in the golden sheaves. The
notes of the lark, and the rattle of the
cradle, and the merry voice of the harvest
ers are heard in the land. The rumble of
the wagon and the crack of the drivers
whip resounds along the lanes s-haulng
home the ripened grain. Shocks of gar.
nered wheat and steeple- shaped stacks
stand like tents on the stubble fields
Along the rural paths stroll the little girls
with baskets on their arms carrying pies,
fruit and butter milk to the harvest hands.
Under the big trees in the fields the toilers
gather in the shade to eat their meals, and
with their wide brimmed hats fan their
heated brows and drink from the goards
hlled at the running springs. AT the gaps
and big gates the little boys keep out the
pigs and calves, and banquet on the black
berries clustering on the briers. The
trees are green and the meadows are luxu-
RANT. Cows roam amongst the clover and
bees buzz among the flowers Nature
wears her Summer robes and the hills are
mantied with growing verdure. The or
| chards are colOred with variegated fruits,
and the vineyards hang with clusters
The cider presses give forth foaming
draughts, and the dares are rich with
| milk, cream and butter The round head
ed cabbage, the blossoming caulifower,
and the blooded beet are seen amongst
the popples in the gardens.
No Winters wind or hoary frost intrudes
on the sacred festival. Drifting SHOWS
and rafting sleet never wrap their white
| folds around the Christmas morning No
! Ice covers the Australian lakes, or spikes
the antipodal falls. No sleigh bells Jingle
on the air, and no muf1led waters" APP
pear on the ponds. The biting blasts of
December and the snow clouds of the
Northern hemisphere never salute the
Australian Christmas tree. The blazing
| wood fire and the ruddy hearth are mem
ories unknown. The fairy stories are told
in the groves, and the holiday dinner eaten
| in the open air. Palmetto fans and linen
clothes are enjoyed, and ice water and
| juicy fruits III demand. The great plains,
| stretching away toward sunset like seas of
| greenery, are vast solitudeS of turf, on
| whose green sward roam the kangaroos,
and stalk the Ostrich-like emu.
The farmer is busy with his crops, the
| shepherd tending his focks, the miner
delving in the gulches, but Ill join in the
| jubilee on Christmas day. Then the fatted
kox is killed, kegs of beer are opened, tank
ards of porter are drained and all ages
and classes indulge in feast on Christen-
dom's holiday. Rural people come to the
villages; the villagers seek the shaded
hooks in the country and the glens in the
| forests. Excursion trains run into the
seaport cities, and thousands of colonists
from the Western plains flock to the sea-
side towns. Pic-nicing steamers fly around
the bays, and every sanded beach and syl-
van cove, near the great cities, are crowd
ed with pleasure seekers. Brass bands
acc ompany the steamers, and out on the
ground, under the trees of the groves, the
merry people have their dances, dinners,
games and songs. Nature rejoices with
man. The earth is exuberant. The birds
are joyous. The cattle are glad, and all
mankind are happy on the celebration of
Christmas day.
| j. N INGRAM